Saturday, 8 December 2012

An Inter
collegiate debate competition for student teachers of Ernakulam district was conducted at St. Joseph College of Teacher Education for Women, Ernakulam, in
connection with International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2012 (Monday).
It was organized by Dr. K. Sivadasan Pillai Foundation for Educational Research
and Development (SPFERD) and St. Joseph College of Teacher Education for Women,
Ernakulam in collaboration with the Council for Teacher Education (CTE), Kerala
State Centre, Dr. T. R. Sivapalan Unnithan Foundation, Indian Adult Education
Association(IAEA), Kerala Chapter and International Association of Educators
for World Peace(IAEWP), Kerala Chapter.

Snaps of the programme

Report
of the Inter-Collegiate Debate Competition on Human Rights held On 10th
December 2012

Human
rights are commonly understood as "inalienable fundamental rights to which
a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human
being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as
natural rights or as legal rights, in both national and international law. The
doctrine of human rights in international practice, within international law,
global and regional institutions, in the policies of states and in the
activities of non-governmental organizations, has been a cornerstone of public
policy around the world.

In
accordance with the International Human Rights Day being celebrated on the 10th
of December 2012, ‘ MANAV AVAKASH’, an Intercollegiate Debate Competition was
jointly organized by the Dr. K. Sivadasan Pillai
Foundation for Educational Research an Development (SPFERD) and St. Joseph
College of Teacher Education for Women in collaboration with the Council for
Teacher Education (CTE), Kerala State Centre, International Association of
Education for World Peace (IAEWP). Kerala Chapter and Indian Adult Education
Association (IAEA), Kerala Chapter.

INAUGURAL SESSION

The introductory session was
blessed with the presence of certain luminaries of the society. The programme commenced with rendition to
Almighty at 9 45 AM. The Welcome address was given
by Rev Sr. Dr. Mary Joseph, Principal, St. Joseph College of Teacher Education
for Women. The President of the ceremony was Mr. A Prabhakaran, the chairman of
SPFERD. He gave a wide description about the working field of the association
and the importance of honoring Human rights. He also briefly described about
the violations happening in the society.

Justice K Narayana Kurup, author of several landmark public
interest judgements which has been universally hailed, including the classic
and path breaking verdict banning smoking in public places and the recipient of
many honours and awards, was the Chief Guest of
the day and inaugurated the function. A
brief presentation on his life and achievements was given. He expressed his anxieties by mentioning how
the right to use water, air, environment and basic utilities were being
violated today. He focused mainly on implementing the laws to protect human
rights in public places and shared his career experiences too. He was honoured
by the SPFERD for his achievements.

On this occasion, Sr. Grace
Maria, an M.Ed student of St.Joseph College of Teacher Education for Women was
honoured by the college in recognition of her being selected as one of the 5 best teachers by the UN for her
work among the tribal students in Wayanad. She retained the hardships and
troubles while searching alternatives to uplift the backwards.

St
Joseph College Manager Rev . Sr. Dr
Tessy Kurian delivered the keynote address. . She
shared her experience as a hostel warden and urged the student teachers to
react against the violation of their rights. As a representative of the Parents
Teachers Association, Mr. KG Mathai spoke a few effective words about the human
rights violations happening in everyday life.
The Vote of Thanks was conveyed by Ms Bindu Joseph, Assistant Prof, St.
Joseph College of Teacher Education for Women. The Morning session was dispersed
for the debate competition at 11.10AM.

DEBATE
COMPETITION

The
debate competition started at 11.30 AM with the Prominent Personalities as jury
members.

Prof.
Leelama Jose, Retd . Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science Maharaja’s
College Ernakulam is a social activist and a regular columnist is publications
like the ‘Deepika’,’Sathyadeepam etc. She is an active member of the Chavara
Cultural Centre too.

Adv.
Anil Kumar K. N Pillai is currently
practicing as an advocate at the High
Court of Kerala. He has worked as a
resource person in the Ministry of Education in Sultanate Of Oman. He has also
worked as a Resource Person under UNESCO project in North East Africa. In addition to these activities he is conducting legal awareness classes for Professional and
Arts and Science Colleges in Kerala.

Adv.JithinPaul
Varghese, a practicing advocate in Kochi
was awarded with the prestigious V.R Krishnaiyer gold medal for
excellence in constitutional law. He headed the Right to Information campaign
launched by the Center for Public Policy Research (CPPR) and also associates
with ADR Center, which is an initiative of CPPR. He has represented India in
Stetson International Environmental Moot Court Competition held at Florida, USA
in Nov 2008.

The
Following Eleven Colleges participated in the debate competition:

1.Indira Gandhi Training College ,
Nellikuzhi

2.Avila College of Education,
Edacochin

3.St.Joseph College of Teacher
Education for Women, Ernakulam

4.MES Training College , Edathala

5.St. Peters Training College ,Kolenchery

6.PIZ Training College, Puthencruz

7.SNM training college , Moothakunnam

8.National College of Education, Vengola

9.Holy Crescent College of
Education, South Vazhakkulam

10.UCTE, Muvattupuzha

11.S.N Training College ,Okkal

TOPIC

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT BY PARENTS
AND TEACHERS –

IS IT A VIOLATION OF THE CHILD’S
HUMAN RIGHTS?

The
competition started at 11.30 AM. For each team 10 minutes were given for their
preparation and again 10 minutes for the presentation of the debate.

Evaluation
by the judges

After
the completion of the arguments presented by 11 team members, judges gave a
feed back on the competition .Prof Leelamma Jose commented that the language
used by the participants was not up to the expected mark. The thoughts were
presented in a vague way. And also the participants were deviated from the
roles assigned to them.

Advocate Anilkumar suggested to cover
arguments as many as possible within the stipulated time then going to the
depth of a single argument .Adv Jithin Paul Varghese concluded by advising the
participants to remember the milestone years of the past and make them up to
date with the currents events.

Prof
Leelamma Jose declared the results of the competition. The Jury congratulated
the winners and the session dispersed for lunch break at 2.30 PM.It was the pleasure
of the college to be with the esteemed presence of these personalities.

VALEDICTORY
FUNCTION

The Valedictory function of “Manav
Avakash” began at 3.00 pm in the college auditorium. Rev.Sr.Dr.Rosamma Lukose,
Vice Principal , St.Joseph’s college of Teacher Education for Women, welcomed
the gathering. In the presidential address, Rev Sr.Dr.Mary Joseph, Principal, St.Joseph’s College of Teacher Education for
Women, expressed her feelings of jubilation over the success of the event and
appreciated the strenuous endeavor of the Co-cordinator and the entire staff.
She also congratulated the winners. Dr.VM Sasikumar, State Chancellor, IAEWP
& Executive director, SPFERD , gave a brief description about Dr.TR
Sivapalan Unnithan, Dr.K.Sivadasan Pillai and Dr.N.D Joshy. He also
congratulated the winners. Sr.Dr.Rosamma Lukose, Sr.Dr.Mary Joseph and Dr.VM Sivakumar presented the
participation certificates to the participants from 11 teacher education
colleges in Ernakulam district. Dr. VM Sivakumar and Sr.Dr. Mary Joseph
presented Dr.Sivapalan Unnithan Rolling Trophy for the runner up, St.Joseph’s
College of Teacher Education for Women represented by Jishamol PK and Tanya
john and for the Winner S.N Training
College, Okkal which was represented by Rincy Rose Michael and Silpa Sreenivasan
. Dr.K.Sivadasan Pillai and Dr.N.D Joshy Memorial Trophy for the best male
debator was presented by Dr.VM Sasikumar to Mr. Shahul Hameed CM from Indira
Gandhi College , Nellikuzhi. Ms. Silpa
Sreenivasan, S.N Training college Okkal, was selected as the best debator. Dr .
Hemaletha PK, Assistant Professor of St.Joseph Teacher Education for women and the
Co-ordinator of the Programme, proposed the vote of thanks. She
extended her
gratitude to all who have contributed with their constructive suggestions to
make the function a great success. The
programmme came to an end at 3.45 pm with the National Anthem.